Part 36

South to Florida; west to Missouri and Texas.

=Habit.=--Tree 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 10 inches to 2 feet, attaining a height of 150 feet and a diameter of 3-5 feet in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys; trunk tall and straight; branches rather small for the diameter and height of the tree, the lower mostly horizontal or declining; branchlets beset with numerous short, rather stout, curved twigs; head wide-spreading, ovoid or narrow-pyramidal, symmetrical; conspicuous in summer by its deep green, shining foliage, in autumn by the splendor of its coloring, and in winter by the long-stemmed, globular fruit, which does not fall till spring.

=Bark.=--Trunk gray or grayish-brown, in old trees deeply furrowed and broken up into rather small, thickish, loose scales; branches brown-gray; branchlets with or without prominent corky ridges on the upper side; young twigs yellowish.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate, reddish-brown, glossy, acute. Leaves simple, alternate, regular, 3-4 inches in diameter, dark green turning to reds, purples, and yellows in autumn, cut into the figure of a star by 5-7 equal, pointed lobes, glandular-serrate, smooth, shining on the upper surface, fragrant when bruised; base more or less heart-shaped; stalk slender.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Developing from a bud of the season; sterile flowers in an erect or spreading, cylindrical catkin; calyx none; petals none, stamens many, intermixed with minute scales: fertile flowers numerous, gathered in a long peduncled head; calyx consisting of fine scales; corolla none; pistil with 2-celled ovary and 2 long styles.

=Fruit.=--In spherical, woody heads, about 1 inch in diameter, suspended by a slender thread: a sort of aggregate fruit made up of the hardened, coherent ovaries, holding on till spring, each containing one or two perfect seeds.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy along the southern shores of New England; grows in good wet or dry soils, preferring clays. Young plants are tender in Massachusetts, but if protected a few seasons until well established make hardy trees of medium size. It is offered by nurserymen, but must be frequently transplanted to be moved with safety; rate of growth rather slow and nearly uniform to maturity. Propagated from seed.

1. Winter buds. 2. Flowering branch. 3. Sterile flower. 4. Fertile flower. 5. Fruiting branch.

PLATANACEAE. PLANE-TREE FAMILY.

=Platanus occidentalis, L.=

BUTTONWOOD. SYCAMORE. BUTTONBALL. PLANE TREE.

=Habitat and Range.=--Near streams, river bottoms, and low, damp woods.

Ontario.

Maine,--apparently restricted to York county; New Hampshire,--Merrimac valley towards the coast; along the Connecticut as far as Walpole; Vermont,--scattering along the river shores, quite abundant along the Hoosac in Pownal (Eggleston); Massachusetts,--occasional; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--rather common.

South to Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tree of the first magnitude, 50-100 feet and upwards in height, with a diameter of 3-8 feet; reaching in the rich alluvium of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys a maximum of 125 feet in height and a diameter of 20 feet; the largest tree of the New England forest, conspicuous by its great height, massive trunk and branches, and by its magnificent, wide-spreading, dome-shaped or pyramidal, open head. The sunlight, streaming through the large-leafed, rusty foliage, reveals the curiously mottled patchwork bark; and the long-stemmed, globular fruit swings to every breeze till spring comes again.

The lower branches are often very long and almost horizontal, and the branchlets frequently have a tufted, broom-like appearance, due probably to the action of a fungous disease on the young growth.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk and large branches dark greenish-gray, sometimes rough and closely adherent, but usually flaking off in broad, thin, brittle scales, exposing the green or buff inner bark, which becomes nearly white on exposure; branchlets light brown, sometimes ridgy towards the ends, marked with numerous inconspicuous dots.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds short, ovate, obtuse, enclosed in the swollen base of a petiole, and, after the fall of the leaf, encircled by the leaf-scar. Leaves simple, alternate, 5-6 inches long, 7-10 wide, pubescent on both sides when young, at maturity light rusty-green above, light green beneath, finally smooth, turning yellow in autumn, coriaceous; outline reniform; margin coarse-toothed or sinuate-lobed, the short lobes ending in a sharp point; base heart-shaped to nearly truncate; leafstalk 1-2 inches long, swollen at the base; stipules sheathing, often united, forming a sort of ruffle.

=Inflorescence.=--May. In crowded spherical heads; flowers of both kinds with insignificant calyx and corolla,--sterile heads from terminal or lateral buds of the preceding season, on short and pendulous stems; stamens few, usually 4, anthers 2-celled: fertile heads from shoots of the season, on long, slender stems, made up of closely compacted ovate ovaries with intermingled scales, ovaries surmounted by hairy one-sided recurved styles, with bright red stigmas.

=Fruit.=--In heads, mostly solitary, about 1 inch in diameter, persistent till spring: nutlets small, hairy, 1-seeded.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a deep, rich, loamy soil near water, but grows in almost any situation; of more rapid growth than almost any other native tree, and formerly planted freely in ornamental grounds and on streets, but fungous diseases disfigure it so seriously, and the late frosts so often kill the young leaves that it is now seldom obtainable in nurseries; usually propagated from seed. The European plane, now largely grown in some nurseries, is a suitable substitute.

1. Winter buds. 2. Flowering branch with sterile and fertile heads. 3. Stamen. 4. Pistil. 5. Fruiting branch. 6. Stipule. 7. Bud with enclosing base of leafstalk.

POMACEAE. APPLE FAMILY.

Trees or shrubs; leaves simple or pinnate, mostly alternate, with stipules free from the leafstalk and usually soon falling; flowers regular, perfect; calyx 5-lobed; calyx-tube adnate to ovary; petals 5, inserted on the disk which lines the calyx-tube; stamens usually many, distinct, inserted with the petals; carpels of the ovary 1-5, partially or entirely united with each other; ovules 1-2 in each carpel; styles 1-5; fruit a fleshy pome, often berry-like or drupe-like, formed by consolidation of the carpels with the calyx-tube.

PYRUS. MALUS. AMELANCHIER. CRATAEGUS.

=Pyrus Americana, DC.=

Sorbus Americana, Marsh.